and inclusive studies on belugas in the region while it also provided for the
development of management plans. In 1994, however, the AIBWC was changed
in both scope and structure. From then on it was named the Alaska Beluga Whale
Committee (ABWC), indicating that the cooperation with the Canadian side no
longer existed. Whether that was the case I am not able to confirm with full
confidence though. What is clear is that by the year 2000 an agreement between
the Inuvialuit of Canada and the Iñupiat of Alaska was concluded: the Inuvialuit
Inupiat Beaufort Sea Beluga Whale Agreement.
29 While in principle picking up on
where the AIBWC had left off, the agreement established the Inuvialuit-Iñupiat
Beluga Whale Commission—an extremely low-profile commission consisting four
Inuvialuit hunters representatives, three Iñupiat hunters representatives, and one
representative of the Kivalina Whaling Captains Association in Alaska.
Based on the agreement, the purpose of the commission is to facilitate information exchange, particularly on the sex of the whales landed, the locations of their
takes and the numbers that have been taken. The agreement itself is therefore not a
legally binding agreement, nor is the commission a management body. Instead, it
communicates the results of hunting activities on both sides of the border—which
follow the respective national management plans—to each other.
No additional information on the commission appears to exist. Any further
information is most welcome for subsequent editions of this book.
5.5.3 The Conservation of Dolphins in the Pacific Ocean
As is commonly known, tuna fisheries have one important drawback: many dolphins
are taken as by-catch. This is particularly the case in the eastern tropical waters of the
Pacific where large yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) share the same habitat as
several dolphin species. In fact, the bond between these two species is so strong that
tuna fishers used to use dolphins as ‘bait’ to be able to fish tuna: when they rounded
up dolphins that were accompanied by tunas, the latter followed the dolphins,
enabling the fishers to take both tuna and dolphin at the same time. In the past,
this has led to massive numbers of dolphin by-catch. It is estimated that in this
manner more than 6 million dolphins have been taken. The public resentment over
the by-catch of dolphins was a driving force behind the adoption of the US Marine
Mammal Protection Act in 1972, which holds specific provisions on dolphins. Due
to US efforts, by 1980 the annual dolphin by-catch had been reduced from around
500,000 animals to 20,000 animals per year.
Yet, since the United States is not the only country fishing tuna in the Pacific,
already in 1950 the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) was
established, comprising a large number of states from the Pacific Islands, North
and South America, Japan, and the European Union. Although the US regulations
proved to be successful, other states that did not have comparable regulations
29 Inuvialuit Inupiat Beaufort Sea Beluga Whale Agreement, 3 Mar 2000.
5.5 Small Cetaceans
119
development of management plans. In 1994, however, the AIBWC was changed
in both scope and structure. From then on it was named the Alaska Beluga Whale
Committee (ABWC), indicating that the cooperation with the Canadian side no
longer existed. Whether that was the case I am not able to confirm with full
confidence though. What is clear is that by the year 2000 an agreement between
the Inuvialuit of Canada and the Iñupiat of Alaska was concluded: the Inuvialuit
Inupiat Beaufort Sea Beluga Whale Agreement.
29 While in principle picking up on
where the AIBWC had left off, the agreement established the Inuvialuit-Iñupiat
Beluga Whale Commission—an extremely low-profile commission consisting four
Inuvialuit hunters representatives, three Iñupiat hunters representatives, and one
representative of the Kivalina Whaling Captains Association in Alaska.
Based on the agreement, the purpose of the commission is to facilitate information exchange, particularly on the sex of the whales landed, the locations of their
takes and the numbers that have been taken. The agreement itself is therefore not a
legally binding agreement, nor is the commission a management body. Instead, it
communicates the results of hunting activities on both sides of the border—which
follow the respective national management plans—to each other.
No additional information on the commission appears to exist. Any further
information is most welcome for subsequent editions of this book.
5.5.3 The Conservation of Dolphins in the Pacific Ocean
As is commonly known, tuna fisheries have one important drawback: many dolphins
are taken as by-catch. This is particularly the case in the eastern tropical waters of the
Pacific where large yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) share the same habitat as
several dolphin species. In fact, the bond between these two species is so strong that
tuna fishers used to use dolphins as ‘bait’ to be able to fish tuna: when they rounded
up dolphins that were accompanied by tunas, the latter followed the dolphins,
enabling the fishers to take both tuna and dolphin at the same time. In the past,
this has led to massive numbers of dolphin by-catch. It is estimated that in this
manner more than 6 million dolphins have been taken. The public resentment over
the by-catch of dolphins was a driving force behind the adoption of the US Marine
Mammal Protection Act in 1972, which holds specific provisions on dolphins. Due
to US efforts, by 1980 the annual dolphin by-catch had been reduced from around
500,000 animals to 20,000 animals per year.
Yet, since the United States is not the only country fishing tuna in the Pacific,
already in 1950 the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) was
established, comprising a large number of states from the Pacific Islands, North
and South America, Japan, and the European Union. Although the US regulations
proved to be successful, other states that did not have comparable regulations
29 Inuvialuit Inupiat Beaufort Sea Beluga Whale Agreement, 3 Mar 2000.
5.5 Small Cetaceans
119